It’s hard to believe, but we’re less than a month out from the All-Star break. While some players are playing unexpectedly well this season, others who we had high hopes for have been struggling. For fantasy purposes, you may be wondering what to do. But don’t sweat it! This weekly write-up will highlight the week’s hot and cold performances in order to help with lineup and waiver wire decisions. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some Week 11 risers and fallers for 2023 fantasy baseball!
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Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Week 11 stats from 6/5 – 6/11
Risers
Gunnar Henderson (3B – BAL)
Gunnar Henderson continues to come on strong in the month of June. He had 10 hits across five games last week, including three multi-hit performances. He also clubbed three homers and stole two bases while sporting a .526 ISO.
Henderson is finally starting to heat up after an underwhelming start to the season. In his past 25 games, Henderson is hitting .321/.361/.641 with a 175 wRC+. He also has six home runs during that span, with 14 runs scored, 14 RBI, and three steals. Overall, Henderson hits the ball with authority and is elevating the ball more this season – his near 60% ground ball rate last season has dropped to a more palatable 42.2%. Henderson has batted leadoff in his last three games, and his slow start looks like it’s in the rearview mirror. Sit back and enjoy the ride, folks!
Elly De La Cruz (3B/SS – CIN)
What an entrance Elly De La Cuz made in his first week in the majors. The top prospect hit the ground running, hitting safely in all six of his games. De La Cruz went 8-for-22, hitting a double, triple, and a home run. He also totaled seven runs scored, four RBI, and three steals. In addition to doing a little bit of everything, De La Cruz tore the cover off the ball with a 75% hard-hit rate and 16.7% barrel rate for the week.
De La Cruz can hit bombs and steal bags. Across 186 Triple-A plate appearances this season, he hit 12 home runs and stole 11 bases. Additionally, his 1.031 OPS was fifth-best in the minors before being called up. De La Cruz’s strikeout rate will likely hover around 30%, but he has 100th percentile speed and is in a prime position to produce as the Reds’ cleanup hitter. The sky’s the limit for De La Cruz.
Nolan Jones (OF – COL)
Nolan stuffed the stat sheet last week, popping three home runs with five runs scored and six RBI. He also registered a 1.378 OPS and swiped four bases for good measure. Jones has been a nice addition to the Rockies since being recalled at the end of May. Across 59 plate appearances, he’s slashing .333/.390/.630 with four homers and four stolen bases.
Regression will kick in at some point given Jones’ 32.2% strikeout rate and .452 BABIP. But he is well worth taking a shot on to see what happens. Jones has pop and speed, and is barreling the ball at a 14.3% clip during his limited time in the majors. So far, the Rockies have committed to playing Jones regularly since his call-up. Fingers crossed that continues.
Gary Sanchez (C – SDP)
Gary Sanchez looks to have found new life in San Diego. The veteran backstop flexed some power last week with three home runs, four runs scored, and eight RBI. He also crushed the ball to the tune of a 60% hard-hit rate.
Sanchez has been solid since the Padres picked him up at the end of May. Across those 46 plate appearances, he has five home runs, eight runs scored, and 12 RBI. He’s also hitting .256/.304/.651 over that span with a .395 ISO. There’s swing-and-miss to Sanchez’s game, so the batting average will come down (career .226). But Sanchez could be a solid source of power at a weak position if he can keep rolling.
Fallers
Anthony Volpe (SS – NYY)
Anthony Volpe has had an ugly June, and the past week was no different. He went 1-for-14 (.071) while striking out at a 33.3% clip. Volpe did steal a base, but he failed to contribute any run support.
The pop and speed are as advertised with Volpe. For the season, he has nine homers and 14 steals across 250 plate appearances. But that comes with an elevated 30.8% strikeout rate, a batting average below the Mendoza Line, and a paltry .605 OPS. Additionally, Volpe has been buried near the bottom of the batting order since mid-May. If he can’t turn things around, Volpe could be sent down to the minors for some seasoning.
Rowdy Tellez (1B – MIL)
Rowdy Tellez had a brutal week, going 1-for-22 with a -68 wRC+ across seven games. Overall, Tellez’s season has been a mixed bag. While he’s making a ton of contact in the zone (88.6%) and has 12 dingers on the season, Tellez’s power numbers have slipped. His .211 ISO is 30 points lower than last season. Additionally, his 38.9% hard-hit rate is just below league average and is a seven-point dip from last year’s 45.7% rate. Tellez could easily power his way through the decreases, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Tommy Edman (2B/SS/OF – STL)
Tommy Edman only managed two hits this week for a grand total of one run scored and one RBI. He did steal a base, but that was likely cold comfort for fantasy managers rostering the speedster.
Edman’s fantasy value has taken a hit this season. He’s no longer the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter, putting his back-to-back seasons of 10+ home runs, 90+ runs scored and 30+ steals in jeopardy. Additionally, he’s struggled to get on base, posting a career-low .297 OBP across 234 plate appearances. Edman has a respectable 10 swipes on the year. But if he continues to bat at the bottom of the order, his run production will remain capped.
Anthony Rizzo (1B – NYY)
Anthony Rizzo is in the middle of a 1-for-30 slump to start the month. Over that span, he has a lowly .033/.121/.033 slash line and .090 wOBA. A recent neck injury is the likely source of his lack of production, so hopefully this is just a bump in the road for the slugger.
Outside of his injury, Rizzo has had a strong season. Across his 262 plate appearances, he’s slashing .269/.344/.444 with 11 home runs and 32 runs scored and 32 RBI. Rizzo is also sporting a 122 wRC+ on the year. Once his health is closer to 100%, look for Rizzo to pick up where he left off. But in the meantime, stay on top of his playing time since his injury has cost him some games.